A mini-retreat in NYC for Trauma workers to learn, create, and connect
About this Event
This is a day-long retreat intended for individuals and practitioners who facilitate Trauma Work, this includes: Psychotherapists, counselors, social workers, bodyworkers, healing practitioners, acupuncturists, teaching artists, meditation teachers, coaches, and any other modality facilitating recovery from trauma. Please see other listings for therapeutic events for the public.
Regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity, ideas around gender and sexuality are woven throughout the developmental process. From an extremely early age we are educated by our families and society at large about our gender and what that means for us in the world, often creating deeply subconscious beliefs that remain outside of our awareness unless we seek it out.
This workshop will dive into the practitioner’s experiences and subconscious beliefs about gender and sexuality, and how to cultivate deeper understanding and insight for ourselves and those we work with. We will critically examine what gender is, and what it means to each of us; how much is really "scientific fact" in comparison to social construct? What is the actual meaning of feminine and masculine? A particular focus will be considerations in working with sexual and gender minorities, however the goal of this workshop is to explore how these concepts are relevant to all.
The Mini-retreat is part training and part personal development and self-care. The total number of participants is limited to 12 people to ensure an intimate environment. In the first half of the day, we will focus more on verbal discussion, didactic training and overall exploration of the topic. The second part of the retreat will be focused on personal development and healing. My practice is firmly rooted in the idea that you cannot ask someone else to go deeper than you have gone yourself. Not only is your personal practice key for providing stability to those you work with, it is the foundation for genuine empathy, connection, and the nonverbal skillset necessary for facilitating unconscious and somatic work.
The personal healing portion will comprise of:
a group hypnosis for connecting to the self
a 2-stage pranayama breathwork group for somatic release and processing
an art experiential where you will make an object to symbolize your experience and provide a resource for further work.
You will be supported with Reiki, essential oils, and herbal tea throughout. Although the nature of this work is deep, the structure of the day and practices are restorative and designed for you to leave grounded, curious, and refreshed.
*Please note that registration cost is on a tiered basis; please select the ticket type most appropriate for your needs. There are also two “work-study” tickets at a reduced cost in exchange for helping to set up or clean up.
Organizer Mikella Millen, MA, LCAT, ATR-BC
Mikella is a trauma-focused Art Therapist and Licenced Creative Arts Therapist with a private practice in NYC, as well as a Reiki Master Teacher. She has trained in a variety of non-verbal and subconsciously oriented modalities including Ericsonian Hypnosis, 2 stage pranayama breathwork meditation, Reiki, and Gestalt Dreamwork. She is passionate about providing compassionate, effective treatment for complex trauma and trauma-related disorders with a particular focus on LGBTQIA+ individuals. Mikella has also worked extensively with bereavement and traumatic grief, and is a graduate level supervisors for training Art Therapists.